Government backs industry-led pensions dashboard

The government has confirmed its support of an online pensions dashboard, as long as it is delivered by industry.

The pensions dashboard was proposed by former chancellor George Osborne in 2016, and is intended to provide retirement savers with a facility to see all their pension plans in one place.

Following speculation that the plan would be scrapped, pensions minister Guy Opperman confirmed in a written statement that the government will facilitate an "industry-led dashboard".

He added that the government will continue to engage with industry on this model, and legislate where necessary to protect pension savers and personal information.

Steve Webb, director of policy at Royal London, hailed the "huge breakthrough" that shows the government's "renewed commitment" to the dashboard.

However, industry groups expressed disappointment that the government will not be leading the project, with some concerned this could exclude state pension information.

Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said the self-employed community "will be feeling thoroughly let down" by the announcement.

He added:

"If we end up with an industry dashboard that doesn't include information about the state pension then you'll still have a proportion of the self-employed believing that their government top-up will get them over the line.